October 26, 2017 12:26pm EDTOctober 26, 2017 12:25pm EDTChris Bouvier from Fantasy Alarm looks at several of fantasy football's top buy-low, sell-high candidates heading into Week 8. If you're not gauging trade value at this time of year, then you're not properly planning ahead for the fantasy playoffs.

Chris Bouvier

Published on Oct. 26, 2017

Oct. 26, 2017

Week 7 is wrapping up and we are now officially halfway through the 2017 fantasy football regular season. Flies by pretty fast, doesn’t it? The standings in your league are starting to take shape, and, hopefully, you’re one of the teams pushing for a playoff spot. Either way, you should be assessing trade values all times.

Let’s look at a few players with delicious playoff schedules you may want to consider trading for, as well as players who will be facing stiff competition in the coming weeks you may want to sell and players who may be just what you need to get you over that hump. As they say, if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail! Let’s go get that title!

Fantasy Football Trade Candidates: Stock up

Dez Bryant, WR, Cowboys. This is simple: Dak Prescott is on fire. Through six games, he’s thrown for two touchdowns or more five times for a total of 14 TDs with only four picks. Bryant has been the main recipient of this aerial attack with 31 targets in the past three games, and while he’ll never have a high catch percentage, he is a playmaker and is getting into the end zone. Heading into Week 7, Dez had nine red-zone targets (tied for second in NFL), and he’s cashing in with four touchdowns through six games. Over the next six weeks Bryant will be going up against the maybe Josh Norman-less Redskins twice, KC, ATL, PHI and LAC, with the latter four teams ranking in the bottom 20 against opposing wideouts.

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Bills. Here is a player to target for your fantasy playoffs, but we’ll get to that in a second. Taylor isn’t going to knock your socks off with any outrageous performances, but his running ability allows him to maintain a very nice floor for fantasy owners if the points aren’t there though the air. Through Week 7, he’s averaging almost 14 points per game, and that’s after playing Denver, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Carolina. All of those teams are sitting in the top half of the league in fewest points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Throughout the rest of the season his toughest game will come against the Chargers in Week 11. Outside of that matchup he will get the opportunity to rack up points against the Colts, Patriots, Saints, Dolphins and Chiefs, all of whom are terrible against opposing quarterbacks. Taylor is a guy to target now at a discount price in relation to other quarterbacks to gain the matchup advantage over your opponent in the playoffs.

Derek Carr, QB, Raiders. After suffering from a fracture in his back in Week 4 against Denver, it looked as though Carr would lose all fantasy value this season. But he's as tough as they come, and just three weeks after the injury he announced he was back in a huge way. Carr threw for 417 yards and three touchdowns in a sensational Thursday night game against the Chiefs in Week 7. As we could all clearly see, he is healthy, and with the Marshawn Lynch experiment not working, Oakland may be looking to go back to airing it out more with Carr. Receivers Michael Crabtree, Jared Cook and a (re)emerging Amari Cooper allow Carr to throw anywhere on the field and put up fantasy points, setting up an intriguing second half of the season for the Raiders. The fantasy playoffs typically run from Weeks 14-16, so with Carr’s matchups against Kansas City, Dallas and Philadelphia in those three weeks, he is someone to target soon, as they’re all in the bottom 11 in fantasy points against opposing QB’s.

Fantasy Football Trade Candidates: Stock down

Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers. San Francisco is not good at all. A quarterback change to C.J. Beathard should pretty much sum up the offensive potential of this team. It's hard to tell what direction this team wants to go in. One week they want to split the workload between Hyde and Matt Breida, and the next week they give Breida four carries. Hyde is still "the guy" here, but looking ahead at his schedule there doesn’t seem to be sunshine in the forecast. Over the 49ers next eight games, seven come against top-15 fantasy defenses against running backs, three of which are in the top six. Being the lead back here still merits some value; however, you may feel it's in your best interest to find a trade partner and get a back with an easier slate ahead of him.

Jerick McKinnon, RB, Vikings. McKinnon and Latavius Murray find themselves in a 50-50 timeshare in the Minnesota backfield. Over the past three weeks McKinnon has 45 carries and 14 receptions to Murray’s exact same 45 carries but only three receptions. The “hot hand” approach seems to be in play here, and that approach is one of the more frustrating situations for a fantasy owner. Murray had a big game in Week 7 against Baltimore, and the performance could lead to more touches, putting McKinnon on the wrong end of the timeshare.There isn’t a fantasy owner out there who likes any part of a timeshare, and Minnesota seems content with this strategy, so be cautious of McKinnon in the weeks to come.

T.Y. Hilton, WR, Colts. Is there a bigger mess than the Colts right now? It’s not looking good for Andrew Luck to return this season, and that is bad news for Hilton owners. His schedule has been brutal, the quarterback play has been less than ideal, and the Colts aren’t very competitive. From Weeks 8 to 16, Hilton will go up against one team that is in the bottom 15 to opposing wide receivers in fantasy football -- one. This is a receiver who could put up another big performance or two this season, and the sooner the better, as you could sell immediately. The fantasy playoffs brings in the 16th-, seventh- and second-best defenses against opposing WR’s for Hilton (Bills, Broncos, Ravens), leaving little hope for a contribution toward your championship run.

Fantasy Football Trade Candidates: Stock neutral

Kenny Stills, WR, Dolphins. Stills is electric, and he’s finally catching the ball! He now has 10 catches and three touchdowns over the past two weeks and has shown a comfort level with new starter Matt Moore, having caught a touchdown in each of Moore’s past three starts dating back to 2016. Stills has typically been an all-or-nothing deep threat early in his career; however, with more targets coming his way, it could raise his floor and make him more reliable for your fantasy team down the stretch. Over the past two weeks Stills has been targeted 13 times. Factoring in DeVante Parkers’ latest injury and issues with Jay Ajayi’s shoulder, Stills now has a golden opportunity. Weeks 8 and 13 bring tough defenses in Baltimore and Denver, but with games against Tampa, New England (twice), Oakland and Kansas City, there is plenty of intriguing upside down the stretch for this under-the-radar threat. Also, let's not forget that this is a guy who had nine touchdown receptions in 2016, and with four through Week 7, it won't be a stretch to see that number again in 2017.

Russell Wilson, QB, Seahawks. Pete Carroll wants to run the ball so bad, but the Seahawks just can't. Week 7 brought the seventh-worst rush defense in the NFL, and all Seattle could muster was 3.4 YPC on 31 attempts against the Giants. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are at their best when they are spreading the ball round the field, allowing Wilson to find the open field and getting chunks of yardage with his legs. Wilson’s playoff schedule isn’t as nice as the other QB’s I mentioned above, but Weeks 9-13 are very inviting, as he plays WAS, ARI, ATL, SF, and PHI. The play of the elusive Wilson in these matchups could vault you to the postseason. A tough matchup against the Texans could be your window to get Wilson at a reasonable price. After that, good luck.

O.J. Howard, TE, Buccaneers. The juice is loose! The extremely talented rookie tight end has finally been set free in the Bucs offense, and he’s showing what allowed him to be drafted in the first round out of Alabama. Very few players at this position have the talent, size, and speed that Howard possesses. Tampa already has a talented tight end in Cameron Brate to take attention away and free up Howard, which was on display during Howard's two touchdowns in Week 7. Howard could continue to see an increased role in the offense. Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and Brate receive a ton of targets, so it remains to be seen if Howard can continue to be involved to this extent. However, there aren’t many players like him in the NFL, so an uptick in usage to utilize the first-round pick properly could be of importance to a reeling Bucs team sitting at 2-4 and at the bottom of the NFC south.